Chocolate Truffle Cookies

I've had this recipe for a couple of years and unfortunately I can't remember where I found it.I've made them a few times and they've been great but the last time I made them I used butter instead of margarine and I don't think they turned out as well. They seemed a little greasy and they also seemed to spread a bit more.



Chocolate Truffle Cookies

1 1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
2 1/4 c. confectioner's sugar
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1/4 c. sour cream
1 tbs. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 c. (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. chocolate sprinkles

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and cocoa until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 1 hr.

Roll into 1 inch balls and dip in chocolate sprinkles. Place sprinkled side up, 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 min or until set. Cool 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 5 1/2 dozen

Pizza!

I love pizza and this is one my favorite crusts. I found the recipe at allrecipes and tried it based on the tons of great reviews (1,862 right now). It makes one huge pizza and makes a pretty thick crust. It's been my go to crust for awhile. If you're looking for a pizza crust you should definitely give this one a try!



Jay's Signature Pizza Crust

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.

Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Chocolate Cake

This recipe came from Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine. It's a nice chocolate cake, excellent texture and very moist. I personally thought the taste of the sour cream in the cake came through a bit more than I would have liked (it could have been my imagination, I'm not a huge fan of sour cream) I didn't use cherry preserves as a filling, other than that I followed the recipe.



I had picture of the whole cake but they turned out really blurry. My picture taking skills have sucked lately. I also have no dishes that are worthy of being photographed which is why the cake is sitting on a Winnie the Pooh plate.

The time on the recipes seems likely to be for a sheet cake. I think 20-25 min. seems more likely for a layer cake but I forgot to write down how long I cooked it for ( I made it a few weeks ago and now I can't remember)

The recipe is copied below as written on Food Hunter's blog

Chocolate Cake
(old family recipe)

1 cup cold water
1 stick butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour your pan.
2. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
3. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl at medium speed. Add eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Add sour cream beat well. Alternate between dry ingredients and water mixing just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake 50-60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

One Bowl Butter Cream Frosting
(Phylis's famous frosting)

6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup Cocoa
2 2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small bowl, cream butter. Add cocoa and confectioners sugar alternately with milk; beat to spreading consistency. (additional milk may be needed) blend in vanilla.

Filling

1 small jar cherry preserves

Banana cupcakes with honey cinnamon frosting

I found this recipe at Good Things Catered. I didn't love the recipe enough to make again so i won't bother putting it up here, you can find it and a ton of other great looking recipes at her blog.

The cupcake had more of a muffin texture which is, I believe part of the reason I wasn't crazy about the recipe. I love a banana muffin but not with frosting, especially when my mouth was set for cupcakes. The frosting was okay but everyone thought it tasted like plain vanilla.

Sweet Potato Fries

I've always been a fan of sweet potatoes, they're full of nutrients and low in calories and they actually do taste sweet. How can you go wrong with a vegetable like that?

I saw this recipe for Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries at The Givens Chronicles and knew I would have to try it. It was mostly liked except some people wanted it to be crispy. I've actually made it three times in the past month. I've tried cooking on a baking sheet at 450 to get it crispier and just last night I tried it on my pizza stone at 450 but it seems these just aren't going to get the crunch that was desired by some. Personally I loved them the first time I made them. They tasted like a roasted sweet potato but the cinnamon brought out the sweetness and the cayenne pepper gave it a little kick. I will be making these often even if I have to eat them all myself!


Here's a copy of the recipe

1-1.5 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” wide strips
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp red pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place potatoes in gallon Ziploc bag and add all and seasonings. Seal and shake making sure they are all coated.

Spread onto baking sheet in single layer and not crowded.

Cook 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate.
Note. They will not be crispy like regular French fries. Try not to overcrowd them or cook something else in the oven with them. They need room to breathe.